Pls tell me which city to live in
Feel a bit lost as to where my wife and I should relocate to to start a family. We are in our mid-thirties and I am blessed to work for a PE firm that allows fully remote.
Currently in the tri-state area and was finding everything just way too expensive. Our ideal culture and climate is San Diego but that's just as expensive as th NY area.
Lately looked into Tampa/Sarasota but I am against it due to the floods/hurricanes. Also considered Denver but it seems like kind of a crummy place (filthy downtown that no one goes into and not THAT close to skiing).
Any other cities/suburbs we should look at that have decent weather, relatively affordable, access to a decent airport?
Cheers!
If you like San Diego but it's a bit too pricey you could look into other similar areas in CA. Santa Barbara, Monterey Bay, San Luis Obispo. Try to take a look at where you think you can afford it, and then just fly out to one of the big cities and rent a car, spend a few days driving up the coast. Worst case scenario, you spent a few days driving up a beautiful coast, drinking wine, eating good food, and you get a vacation out of it haha.
Parts of Orange County might honestly be cheaper than San Diego too depending where you're looking
That's definitely true, although some of those are reaaaaaaaally boring.
Definitely consider Santa Barbara or Ventura County. Beautiful area but can as expensive as NYC or more. But much better quality of life for the price. I would work remote there over anywhere else in the country. I’m biased though since I spent 4 years there for college. It’s really hard to beat the central coast.
I think you could also do well in Isle of Palms SC or Northern Virginia near McLean. My uncle runs his tech company from Isle of Palms and it seems like the best place they could have raised their family. Really awesome little town.
What hobbies do you have, what kind of politics are you looking for, where do you travel to the most, what kind of city feel are you going for?
Chicago's surrounding suburbs if you're originally from the NY or SF areas. Biggest drawback to the area is that it's cold, but probably only a bit colder than NY and unless you're a big hiking or surfing guy, then you'd probably stay inside most the day anyways. Some good places include
Naperville and Orland Park for some of the best places to live in the entire country according to tons of national rankings lists
North Shore - more high end
Hinsdale - nice but without the status
South Barrington - mega mcmansionville
Lemont/Palos - great outdoor recreation
Orland/Naperville/Schaumburg - large shopping/restaurant corridors
Oak Park/Park Ridge/Evanston - urban vibe
Lemont - European culture
Homer Glen - safety
Rosemont - entertainment
Lemont/St. Charles/Wheaton/Riverside - history
Chicago has the opposite of "decent weather". Quite possibly the worst weather out of any major city you could pick in the country. Coming from someone who lived there before and enjoy it, but the weather is quite honestly awful and imo there's actually a significant difference compared to New York. New York winters suck but are at least bearable, Chicago winters are just straight depressing
Is Chicago weather really worse than somewhere like Seattle or Portland?
I just typed up a long response and it looks like it didn't post, Don't feel like typing the whole thing again and apologies if it ends up going through and I have two comments.
The gist of what I wrote is that if you really love SoCal culture, you are going to be let down in Florida or Denver or any other place really, so if you work in PE then I'd say life is too short and just go where you want. You'll be happier in a smaller house in SoCal with perfect weather to get outside every day and tons of activities nearby. There are many places from LA to San Diego that are a bit cheaper and many have good public schools for your future kids. These are places that are generally not directly on the water or are a far commute to the employment centers, something you won't have to worry about working remote. Some I thought of at the top of my head:
North of LA - Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village (these areas are actually really beautiful places to live. About an hour from LA. Lots of executives and older Hollywood folks live up there, and I think they have good public schools but I could be wrong. The major hang up here is that during rush hour, it could be a 2 hour drive to where most of the high income earners go to their office, but if you don't have to deal with that it could be a great area for you).
South of LA - Redondo Beach, Torrance - these areas used to be pretty damn cheap for SoCal standards but have gotten more pricey. Torrance you gotta be selective (and I don't know anything about public schools here) and it doesn't feel as picturesque as areas you might want to be. Redondo Beach is a bit better but pricier. Still a discount compared to other attractive areas.
OC - Costa Mesa, Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo
San Diego - I've never lived here so tough to say, but just basically go up the coast then draw a line a few miles to the east and these are probably mostly solid areas that are cheaper because they are 20+ minute drive to the water
Bump for south of LA, grew up in the south bay area of LA (Torrance, Redondo, Palos Verdes, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach), I found Torrance a great place to live/grow up, good schools in the Redondo/PV area, not as expensive as SD, and really close to the beach with great hiking trails
I agree it's nice - I'd say the issue is that it's probably not cheaper than San Diego except for select spots. The secret got out years ago and now prices have gone up, especially Manhattan beach given it's the nicest + closest part to Downtown LA / Century City.
Why didn’t you list OC - San Clemente? I love that area.
I'm just not familiar with cost of living there and I figured since it's on the water, it's probably pricey. Agree it's a beautiful area.
I grew up in the north of LA and now go to college in San Diego. If you can afford it, there's almost nothing that beats living in SD. Perfect weather, amazing food, and lots to do. LA is great too but traffic is terrible and homelessness is a big problem even in the nicer areas. I agree with the poster above that life is too short to live somewhere you don't enjoy. I'm going to miss SD after college but I 100% see myself retiring or moving back to SD at some point
Keep in mind though that you're in college and OP is mid 30's and about to start a family. Your definitions of things to do are going to be different - OP will probably spend most of his time working from his house, hanging with his kids at his house, going to kid's events nearby, etc. with maybe the occasional night out with the wife. So north LA (Thousand Oaks area) can fit the bill well here (get a nice house for the money, good schools, 30 min - 1 hr Uber to some of the best spots in LA on the weekends, short drive to some killer beaches, not too far from LAX for tons of flight options).
If money isn't an issue, then sure I'd rather just have a nice house in the best spots in San Diego, but OP seems to be concerned about cost of living so this is a good alternative without having to move to a state that they are only moderately fond of.
Thank you!!
Thousand Oaks and Westlake are great.
Lmao Denver is not "crummy"
If your ideal culture and climate is San Diego...why not pick San Diego?
Yeah I agree - San Diego or OC is the answer. If he wants cheaper real estate, just head east until the price is right.
> ends up buying a place in Phoenix, Arizona lol
If you want SoCal but don’t wan
Did you just have a seizure?
🚨
Do Tampa.
I’m in west Denver and it’s great. I hate going downtown for the reasons you mention. Puts me 20m (sometimes more) closer to the mountains (foothills and Front Range). Rent is great for me and in a quiet neighborhood. Life is good. Happy to answer any specifics.
Thanks man. Really appreciate it! Is there much to do within a 20 min drive of Arvada?
You can get downtown on the light rail from Old Town super easy. 15m to Union Station from there. If you wanna get out and hike, Golden is 15ish min away, lots of good hiking there. Drive a little further NW (maybe 20-25ish min) and you’re in Boulder right in the foothills. My fav hikes lately have been the Boulder peaks. If you want to get to the mountains (either to hike in summer/fall or ski/board in the winter), Front Range is an hour to hour and a half away. In winter, this is gonna be 90-120m bc I70 is awful with traffic. All in all couldn’t have found a better spot to live. I’m young, so all my friends live downtown, but I’m more of an outdoors person than city person (at least in Denver, bc Denver is no SF/LA/NYC/Chi) so it’s perfect for me.
OP here. All comments were super helpful - thank you. The one that really resonated with me was "start in San Diego and go east until you find it affordable" - at that rate I'd end up either in Arizona or in a part of California that feels like Arizona but with Cali taxes :)
Tampa is tempting but I am getting freaked out by the legit floods and hurricanes happening and how that is a nightmare from an insurance perspective.
just got a New York City there’s way more girls here to go on Hinge dates with
I'm married and currently live in nyc
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